


Hungry Like the Wolf

by karrenia_rune



Category: Andromeda
Genre: Gen, community: small fandom fest 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-18
Updated: 2010-07-18
Packaged: 2017-10-10 15:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/101441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/pseuds/karrenia_rune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two old friends have to learn to find different ways to understand and relate to one another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hungry Like the Wolf

Disclaimer: Andromeda belongs to Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Productions as do the characters of Rev Bem and Seamus Harper and others who appear here or are mentioned; they are not mine. Note: The story references events shown in the 2nd season episode "Harper 2.0."

"Hungry Like the Wolf" by karrenia

That Seamus Zelanzy Harper was hurting was about as obvious an understatement and an acute ability to remark upon the obvious as the snout about Rev Bem's face.

The young human engineer simply seemed to be the type of individual that attracted trouble the way the proverbial fly attracted honey. 'Although," remarked Rev as he navigated around, past and over the accumulated tools, metal fixtures and debris in Machine Shop 7, "perhaps I am being a bit too literal in my choice of metaphor."

They had known one another for a long time, and lived and worked together aboard Captain Beka Valentine's salvage ship the Eureka Maru, before they had all been encouraged to sign on and had now become the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant.

Rev Bem was hardly what any one could possibly refer to as a betting man; given that he always took the long view; his conversion to the foundations and traditions of an new, or the old but gaining sway religion known as the Way; had taught him many things: among those was the ability to take the long view.

The ability to take the long; to see and analyze a given from any number of perspectives had also allowed him the ability that none of his race; the Magog' had ever achieved. Rev Bem rarely allowed himself the luxury of regret, but becoming a Waysist was not one of them.

"Harper?" he softly said by way of announcing his own presence.

Harper, for his part, first instinct was to pretend that he had not heard the other's approach, although clearly he had judging from his unspoken body language, even bent over in a most uncomfortable looking position underneath the fuselage of an antique-looking flying machine.

Harper stood and turned around even as an mix of emotions swiftly passed across his face. In the back of his mind he almost wished that Rev had not come, had not forced them to reexamine at least some of the open wounds that he been brought to the forefront ever since his exposure to the purloined and extensive copy of the Peresied Data Library that he had inadvertently downloaded, via the data port on his neck, directly into his brain.

Somewhere in that vast ocean of information was a memory from the past; not his own, but of the attack on Brandenburg Tor, by Rev Bem's people, the Magog, that had been the attack that had nailed the next to last nail in the coffin of the Old Commonwealth almost three hundred years ago.

Rationally and logically Harper realized that it wasn't Rev's fault; because neither of them had been alive back then. Also, he knew it was not even remotely fair to place the blame for what had happened upon the shoulders of one individual.

However, while he had been coping with the massive overload, Harper distinctly recalled lashing out verbal and even attempting to attack Rev Bem. The memory of that still stung and he flushed with both remembered anger and more than a little embarrassment at the memory.

"Hey, to what do I owe the honor?" he said aloud.

"I wished to speak to you," Rev sighed.

"Fire away," replied Harper with a hint of his familiar off-center grin making a sudden reappearance after a long stint being missing in action.

Rev almost grinned in response at the wry grin's presence; which on him would be more akin to a baring of long pointed incisors; but he the intentions behind were quite genuine. Instead, he said. "You have heard me quote Waysist proverbs often enough, that I hardly feel the need to do so now."

"Bore me? Rev, you gotta be kidding me!" Harper said, stuffing his hands into the cavernous pockets of the glaring-orange pants that the human was so fond of wearing and that Captain Dylan Hunt found glaringly non military-regulation.

The issue had been neatly sidestepped by Beka, who claimed that as far as she was concerned that Harper could wear whatever he damn well pleased as long he got the job done and that was the end of 'that.'

"I believe that the Divine," Rev began, "Loves us at the broken places."

"What are you going on about?" Harper asked, fidgeting where he stood, uncomfortable but realizing that even as he did so that perhaps he needed to have this out with Rev even more than the other did. "It ain't something I haven't heard before."

Rev sighed. "I realize that, and I hardly need to proselytize at this late date, but it does, lead into what I wished to talk about."

Harper shook his head and nodded. "I was kinda, sorta getting that idea. So, I guess, since we've come this far, we might as well go all the way. You, carpe diem and all that jazz."

Rev smiled. "Indeed. What happened to you, when the Perseid library overloaded your data port; the past…

"You mean getting kidnapped, or experiencing the equivalent of the only recorded brain lobotomy in history, or both? Rev, if you really want to you, it hurt like seven hells."

"That is not what I meant. "

"You mean, the…..attack." Harper muttered under his breath. "Look, Rev, I ….I don't know what came over me. For what's it's worth. I'm sorry. Really, I am."

"You're only human," Rev replied.

"Yeah, I guess. You're not holding that against me, are you?" Harper asked a bit louder than the last time.

"Harper, my friend, I would never hold that against you, and if anyone should confess to be sorry for what happened, it is I!"

"Okay, okay," Harper said as he removed his hands from his pockets. "We're both sorry. Now can we go back to our regularly scheduled uh, whatever that was?"

"Agreed.. And as I have heard rumored and have on reliable report: to err is human, to forgive divine. And you can quote me on that." Rev replied and this time flashed his old friend, Seamus Harper a genuine smile.

"Hilarious, Rev, really. I mean it." Harper replied and burst out laughing.

***


End file.
